It's the first day of 2013

and I didn't even bother to get a year-end post together before now. That's okay, though, as 2012 had been bittersweet, tumultuous, at times volatile, and ultimately even more life-changing than 2011. But while I had direction and ambition in 2011 and was making changes that would benefit me and my family, every bit of that focus and determination slowly slipped away over the course of 2012. I can't possibly recall all the things I didn't like about the past year, let alone post them and have all that negativity just out there, though....that would be starting 2013 off on the wrong foot. So I am currently imagining myself tossing all the year's problems into a roaring fire, to be consumed and destroyed. Take that!

The year wasn't all sadfaces and stress, though. 2012 also had many, many good times and causes for celebration, and I did my best to take none of them for granted. I now see the past year for the lesson it was, and will hopefully move forward into 2013 a bit wiser, stronger, and with a better sense of self and renewed determination.

So what does the future hold for me?

Well.....all the goals I have made in years past still apply. So those. And some of them? Are hard work. My biggest disappointment with myself in 2012 was slacking off my health/fitness/eating right plan, and I paid dearly for it. But I am ready to work hard and get back to good this year.

As for here online? First off, I decided against a blog facelift at this time. Obviously. I am just not ready to give up my trademark "Devil Girl." She's been with me a long time, you know. I plan on participating in more blog hops, networking a bit more, and participating more at Goodreads (my profile link is in my sidebar; add me if you're there!).

But I guess my biggest bloggy news for the new year is that I have started two more blogs! Yep, I sometimes neglect this one like crazy, so I thought "Hey! Why not start two more blogs to neglect like crazy?" One of them will feature my rescues and repurposes (I almost have one finished as I type this!), and another is a collaboration between me and a few others solely for concert reviews. It was only a matter of time before I started something like that! Of course, neither is currently active.

As for the concert review site, I am working on the design and the writers I'm starting off with (oh, and myself!) all have to attend some shows so we have content. I will be doing an introductory post as soon as I have the design and bios finished.

I can go ahead and tell you that my project blog will be called "Be re.BELLE.ious". Of course, it's a take on rebellious; I think being a loud,live music- /classic muscle car- /tattoo-loving mama who plans on helping to redefine/shake up the middle age "norm" qualifies me as a bit of a rebel, no? Belle in all caps, because I'm keeping the Belle theme going. And the "re" refers to not only finding and sharing creative ways to reduce, re-use, and recycle, but also to things like (but not limited to): rescue; repurpose; re-imagine; re-invent; etc. You get the picture!

I will definitely be directing your attention to the new blogs when they are ready to roll, and I'll be keeping this one as well.

Here's to a great 2013! This is how my NYE got started:



Unfortunately, I am a lightweight and couldn't stomach the taste for long!

This year in music

As part of my end-of-the-year wind-down, I'll be covering the year in music.

Sadly, I only made it out to ONE show this entire year, the Rock Star Energy Drink Mayhem Festival's Atlanta stop. But it was a damn good show, and I am so thankful that I got to see it....and with Spank, no less!



One of the featured themes for the last Monday's Music Moves Me of the year is along the lines of the year's best songs. Right up my alley, right? This year saw a lot of new music from some artists I really like, so you should give them a listen on Spotify!

Some albums I really enjoyed this year:

Voodoo Glow Skulls, Break the Spell
Attack, Attack!, This Means War
Foxy Shazam, Welcome to the Church of Rock and Roll (you have GOT to hear this one!)
Nada Surf, The Stars are Indifferent to Astronomy
Lamb of God, Resolution
Rick Ross, God Forgives, I Don't
Rush, Clockwork Angels
B.o.B., Strange Clouds
Of Montreal, Paralytic Stalks
Chris Robinson Brotherhood, Big Moon Ritual
Pink Floyd, re-release of The Wall. 'Nuff said.
Cannibal Corpse, Torture
Biohazard, Reborn in Defiance
Iron Maiden, En Vivo! (A collection of live recordings.)
Shinedown, Amaryllis
The Cult, Choice of Weapon
Melvins, Freak Puke
The Avett Brothers, The Carpenter
Thousand Foot Krutch, The End is Where We Begin
Deuce, Nine Lives
The Brian Jonestown Massacre, Aufheben
The Smashing Pumpkins, Oceania
The Gaslight Anthem, Handwritten
Ryan Bingham, Tomorrowland
Devin Townsend Project, Epicloud
Stone Sour, House of Gold & Bones - Part 1
Travis Barker and Yelawolf, Psycho White
Green Day, Uno
Green Day, Dos
Green Day, Tre

While these are all some really great albums, my absolute favorites - the ones from which I love each and every track - were:

Hank Williams III, - Long Gone Daddy Did you know that the grandson (and lookalike) of country legend Hank Williams is a musician as well? Okay, now you do! His latest is full of rollicking, twangy, honky-tonk country covers (and some outtakes from some of his own earlier albums). Just like I love it! Enjoy this amazing Merle Haggard cover:



Marilyn Manson Born Villain I've blogged about this one before, and I'm no less excited about it now. I still think you should give it a listen if you've ever liked the band, especially their earlier stuff.



Jack White - Blunderbuss - I blogged about him in the same post as Manson, and I'm still listening to Blunderbuss regularly. With a variety of different sounds, there's sure to be something for everyone on it.



And of my absolute favorites released this year? My most favorite of favorites?

The Killers - Battle Born Oh, how I love every song just so so so much! Oh, how I feel like linking to every video from the album that I can find! But...I won't. So yeah, this one is probably my favorite song on the album. My "song of the year," if you will:



How about you? What were your favorite songs this year? I'd love to hear about them in the comments!

I'll close out my last Music Monday post of the year by honoring the musicians and others in the industry who passed away in 2012.

RIP Nicole Bogner, Dave Brubeck, Terry Callier, Elliott Carter, Lol Coxhill, Rob "Balfabar Nosugref The Almighty" Cranny, Hal Davis, Rob Doherty, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Robbie France, Robin Gibb, Michael Grant, Andy Hamilton, Jonathan Harvey, Mehdi Hassan, Levon Helm, Whitney Houston, Steeve Hurdle, Etta James, Davy Jones, Tonmi Lillman, Huw Lloyd-Langton, Joey "Fingers" Lombard, John Lord, Mitch Lucker, Jim Marshall, Scott McKenzie, Ronnie Montrose, Trondr Nefas, Johnny Otis, Dory Previn, Mark Reale, Mike Scaccia, Earl Scruggs, Ravi Shankar, Joe South, Big Jim Sullivan, Donna Summer, Richie Teeter, David S. Ware, Doc Watson, Bert Weedon, Bob Welch, Kitty Wells, Hans Werner-Henze, Andy Williams, and Adam Yauch.